Socio-environmental balance: How environmental conflicts can support the climate-security nexus

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary research integrating geography, political ecology, and political science.
• Focus on environmental conflict analysis and its contribution to the climate-security nexus.

Background:

• Mining and environmental conflicts are significant issues in Burkina Faso.
• Environmental degradation is a multicausal factor leading to social and political instability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how interpretative analyses of environmental conflict can inform the climate and security nexus debate.
• To analyze the co-constitutive relationship between environmental change and human societies in conflict contexts.

Main Methods:

• Interdisciplinary literature review on climate change, environment, and conflict.
• Case study analysis of four large-scale mining sites in Burkina Faso.
• Application of a framework emphasizing the environment-society relationship in conflict.

Main Results:

• Environmental alterations are identified as a central factor in social and political conflict.
• The study provides an interpretative understanding of how environmental issues fuel conflict in Burkina Faso.
• Mining activities significantly contribute to environmental alterations and subsequent societal changes.

Conclusions:

• The case study of Burkina Faso enriches the climate and security debate by highlighting interpretative understandings of environmental conflict.
• Recognizing the multicausal nature of environmental alterations is crucial for addressing conflict.
• Interdisciplinary approaches are vital for comprehending the complex links between environment, society, and security.